Stayin cool on a 23!

[Mas]

So the forecast is calling for some more snow early next week, getting ready to go skiing, our boat won't even hit the water till April and i found myself thinking about how to stay cool on our little boat as the weather warms. Right now sailing season is spring and fall with only an occasional foray into light summer aires, thunderstorms and humidity (Julyish and Augustish). Won't worry about it if on the water in summer as that means the weather was decent, got fans and a bimini plus clearly no 115v current when sailing. The rub will be if we wish to say on the boat in the marina if hot and sticky. We do not live near our boat so it becomes our lodging many times when there. Got shore power. Really don't wanna have to move an ac every time we go below decks though the companionway probably is the best place for an inexpensive window ac and it can drain into cockpit. Seen some hatch mounted ones, seem pricey and hear are prone to leaks. The portable self contained ones are way too huge for our little boat and don't work so well for the price and are heavy.

What have others done? Really doesn't seem to be many options on such small boats. I don't wanna hear move it to New England for the summer though it is tempting!

[Shawn]

Companionway is easiest. There is a 23 out there that mounted the ac at the back of the quarterberth. Cockpit lockers have to be open fir airflow but it would certainly be out of the way.

Shawn

[Mas]

Thanx Shawn. Yeah the companionway is the easiest for set up but the most difficult for access. Guess you could try to get the smallest possible and see if it could be stepped over.  Cant imagine an end of quarter berth install would supply much needed air to the v berth where we sleep. New England looking better!

Thanx, great hearing from you again.

[BobK]

I use a Krusin Kool on my 27.  They are no longer made but available used.  It is the size of a suitcase (in fact it is in a Samsonite suitcase).  It is 5000 btu but is water cooled.  It comes with a 10 ft double hose with a pump mounted on it, the condensate is also pumped overboard. I just stick it through a porthole. It is easy to google for an image.

BobK

[Mas]

Thankx BobK. I have looked at that option as well.The company is still in business but your are correct no longer made. where are you located? Would it work well in hot humid conditions? Seems to simply be a heat pump?

That gives me an idea.....maybe i could put one of the compact reverse cycle heat pumps that also function with using the water, in its own self contained case. They are pretty compact. Hook it up to discharge thru an unused above waterline thru hull and take up with either a thru hull or some other arrangement. That way it could be used someday on a boat where a permanent installation would be more appropriate. Literally am just now thinking about this. The KoolinKruise seems to be essentially just that.

Does it keep ur 27 at a temp that is comfortable?

Gotta love boat ownership....thinking about AC while i am watching snow melt with more on the way!

[HeaveToo]

Fans, Fans, and more fans.  12V fans at anchor, 110 fans at the dock.

Not all 12V fans are equal.  Get a Camframo http://www.wholesalemarine.com/sirocco-marine-fan-7-3-speed-white.html?gclid=CKa-sKmy48oCFYEsHwodsPsB_Q  They push more air for less electricity than any other fan.

Another trick, fine open anchorages.  If the weather is semi-settled and you trust your ground tackle don't anchor in tight places.  Find open places and stay away from land.  You will get more breeze and less bugs.  also, get good bug screens!  Instead of staying at your dock, motor out and anchor in a more open water.  You will have more privacy and you will have cool temperatures. 

When sailing in the summer, it is always much cooler on the Bay than in a harbor.  Stay out to about 5pm and then go into the harbor.

I just can't imagine AC being a viable option on a smaller boat.  There is not enough room.

[Shawn]

Thanx Shawn. Yeah the companionway is the easiest for set up but the most difficult for access. Guess you could try to get the smallest possible and see if it could be stepped over.  Cant imagine an end of quarter berth install would supply much needed air to the v berth where we sleep. New England looking better!

Companionway would probably be doable at night when you sleep. It would be annoying the rest of the time though. The other problem is simply where to store it the rest of the time.

I'd think the end of the quarter berth would end up working out OK. Interior volume is pretty small so it would likely cool the boat OK. You might night feel the breeze directly but it should cool the boat.

Avoid the air cooled free standing AC units. I tried one in my Sabre the first summer when I was fixing my diesel. It really didn't do very much. They exhaust their heat through a hot air vent. It seemed like blowing out all the heat resulted in a little bit lower pressure inside the boat which just brought it hot outside air back in.

If you don't have one get a Breeze Booster. If there is any breeze they make a huge difference in ventilating down below.

http://www.breezebooster.com/index.html

They work especially well at anchor.

Shawn

[Mas]

Hey Heave,

We are not the least bit interested in having AC when out and done enough bay cruising in the past during the summer to know pick a good anchorage for breeze. You only make that mistake once! Got a camfro fan plus another type and not worried about underway or even at dock except if one of those hot humid days with zero wind. Just looking to get a good nights sleep since we don't have lodging near the boat. It is our home there too. There is not enough room for any kind of a permanent ac on such boats and frankly wouldn't even if there was. That kind of ac is best reserved for more live aboard sized boats. We just want to have a cool nights sleep at dock since the boat is our home there. If it were just me then maybe, but my wife goes with me a bunch. Two folks really limit the ole spread out turn on fans, leave ports open, jus deal with it approach!

Probably will look at a small window unit in companionway as it is the real only location that could work. I would consider the conversion i thought about if it could be accomplished to fit and be easily removed to sell or to another boat someday. It's fun to ponder! They are pricey and would rather spend the money on a new dodger to help while underway and at dock for ventilation. Right now about $100 gets me a 5,000btu window unit 16wx15dx12h with a cantilevered front panel so it would fit on the bridge deck and then through the companionway. Will fabricate a cardboard mockup to see if it can be left in place and step over it into the boat.

Been married for 36 years cuz i know how to take care of my wife! As a result she is totally supportive of the boat thing. If ya wanna have the lady on board ya gotta make some accommodations! The fastest way to have your lady not want to go out on the boat is to have her having no fun! The bottom line is unless there is a doable way to AC our little boat we will simply not be on her in such instances that it would be needed. Just looking to have her function as a "cottage" for us when we are at dock and not going out. We have typically not sailed much in the summer but hoping to accommodate a little more of that! Much fun last Saturday1

[Mas]

Hey Shawn just saw your last post. We have a diesel so the quarter berths have access panels on either side of the engine compartment that we need to gain entrance to at times. Can't really install anything permanently in those areas.If i am understanding the end of companionway install then you would need to open up the cabin into the locker area for the ac and really don't want to do that for multiple reasons including losing even more storage. A small ac could be stowed there but not used there.

Gunna make friends with someone who has a cottage near our boat in exchange for trips out! Might be the best and most fun approach! Still thinking though.

[Shawn]

"We have a diesel so the quarter berths have access panels on either side of the engine compartment that we need to gain entrance to at times. Can't really install anything permanently in those areas.If i am understanding the end of companionway install then you would need to open up the cabin into the locker area for the ac"

The install I saw basically put a window unit in the bulkhead at the aft end of the port quarterberth. It should be out of the way for access to the engine. Wish I kept the pictures of the install. It was on a 23 being sold by the Sailboat Company years ago. It was probably the best setup I have seen for a 23 as it is out of the way all the time and really wouldn't take away much storage as it is sort of dead space around the bulkhead. The biggest thing with that install is the pull out stove likely not being able to retract all the way. That was one of the advantages of moving the stove to the starboard side, it opened up that area for AC and/or additional storage.

Shawn

[Mas]

oops...meant end of quarter berth install for my above comments!

[Mas]

Hey Shawn,

I might check with the Sailboat folks for ideas and we no longer have any retractable stove or sink secondary to a previous mod accomplished by an earlier owner. We do however have our shore power, two electrical busses, charge controller and battery banks at the aft bulkhead on the starboard side and the fuel polishing filters and raw water wash down pumps and requisite thru hulls for engine and pumps just aft of the port side quarter berth. Also would be setting myself up for smelly condensate in the lockers and having the weather with access to them as well. Right now the bilge is bone dry and stays that way! I like the creativity of that approach however and if not so already filled with stuff might consider such and leave the condensate to drain thru the unused above waterline original sink drain and fabricate a watertight hatch that could be closed when AC not there.

thanx again.

[HeaveToo]

Cruise and carry use to make an AC that went in the front hatch.  You would need to make a platform for it to sit on since it is a drop just past the hatch in the Compac 23. 

That would be the best place to keep it.  Put it in a dockbox or a vehicle when you leave the dock because you wouldn't want to take it with you.

http://ac2015.net/posts/crusair-air-conditioner/

You can probably find a used one on ebay.

[HeaveToo]

If you worry about leaking create a front hatch tent.  I need to make one for my boat but I have had them on the last two boats.  It gives you shade so no direct sunlight passes through the hatch at anchor and I make them big enough to keep the hatch open, even in pouring rain.

[Tom L.]

We kept our boat one summer in the deep south, Brunswick, Ga. Had to have AC to make it live-able at the dock only. We had a summer to do repairs before we continued our cruise. We bought a 10K window unit and installed it in a front hatch. I made a foam duct using adhesive and duct tape to direct the discharge and return into the cabin. Worked really well. It was a rip off of the cruise and carry but a window unit costs a fraction and the duct was peanuts. Took it all off and stored ashore when we went out sailing.

The boat was too large for a Cruise and carry anyhow, but I would guess a 23 could use a 8K or maybe even a 5K window unit.

Good Luck

Tom L.